The field of the present invention relates to trusses used to support elements of buildings or other structures. A truss bearing is disclosed for securing a wooden truss chord to a metal support.
A truss typically includes horizontal, parallel upper and lower truss chords (i.e., beams) connected by a truss web, which has a plurality of diagonal or vertical (or both) web members. Such trusses are intended to support vertical loads and are in turn typically supported at the ends of the upper truss chord by beams, girders, ledgers, other trusses, or other supporting or structural members when incorporated into a larger structure that supports the truss. The chord and web configuration results in a highly rigid truss capable of supporting large vertical loads. Longitudinal or lateral loads (i.e., shearing loads), however, are borne by the connection or linkage between the ends of the upper chord and whatever supporting members support its ends. Such connections or linkages may be a weak point of a structure, and may fail when the structure is subject to shearing forces (during an earthquake, for example).
Wood is a common material used for making trusses. Securing the ends of the truss to another supporting member typically involves nails, screws, bolts, or other fasteners inserted through the end of the upper chord. To meet increasingly stringent construction standards for resisting shear loads, larger numbers of such fasteners must be used, to the point where the structural integrity of the wood forming the upper truss chord may be compromised.